New Delhi: President Pratibha Patil, Prime
Minister Manmohan Singh and Congress President Sonia Gandhi
were among a host of leaders who on Thursday condoled the death of
Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister Dorjee Khandu in a chopper
crash on Saturday.
The Prime Minister and the Congress chief will go to
Itanagar tomorrow to pay their last respects to the
56-year-old Arunachal leader, AICC general secretary Janardan
Dwivedi said after a meetings of the Congress Working
Committee.
A meeting of the Union Cabinet presided by the Prime
Minister also adopted a separate resolution condoling Khandu`s
untimely death.
Lauding the "visionary leadership" of Khandu, the
meeting of the cabinet said it places on record its deep sense
of grief and loss over the death of Khandu and extended its
sincere condolences to his family and people of the state.
"The fact that several sectors such as hydro-power,
tourism, mineral development, agriculture, food processing and
agro-based industries in the state are generating income and
employment for a large segment of population, is a glowing
tribute to his visionary leadership," it said.
The CWC, which met under the Chairmanship of the
Congress President, was attended by the Prime Minister, AICC
general secretary Rahul Gandhi and several union ministers,
said Khandu`s death was a loss which will be felt for a long
time.
"Khandu was born in an ordinary family belonging to
Monpa tribal community in Arunachal Pradesh and he reached to
the top political post of the state through his work and
dedication. This is an example in itself," it said.
During the meeting, Home Minister P Chidambaram
narrated the sequence of events leading to Khandu`s death in
the chopper crash.
In a condolence message, the President said that
Khandu was a politician, who actively spent his life in public
affairs and who deeply understood the pulse of the people.
Vice President Hamid Ansari said Khandu, a charismatic
leader, believed that the real well-being of a society cannot
be measured by material development alone but by the human
development of its people.
He has shown exemplary devotion and dedication to the
all-round development of the state and its people, he said.
The Prime Minister said that the veteran politician
worked tirelessly to promote the interest of the state.
He recalled that Khandu was elected un-opposed to the
first legislative assembly of the Arunachal Pradesh in 1990
and continuously served his constituency since then.
PTI
